Top Three Factors Predicting Mesothelioma Survival are Age, Histological Type, and Surgery Status
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Top Three Factors Predicting Mesothelioma Survival are Age, Histological Type, and Surgery Status

ByHolly Zink

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive malignancy with a dismal prognosis. A new study is predicting mesothelioma survival among male and female patients in the United States. Identifying factors “associated with mesothelioma mortality is important research given the poor prognosis” according to Dr. Bian Liu from the a Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. A new study applied a machine-learning algorithm to 12,210 patients to predict survival. The top three factors were age, histological type, and cancer-directed surgery status. Analyzing Over 12,000 Mesothelioma Patients Scientists from the New York State Department of Health included 12,210 mesothelioma patients. They involved only malignant pleural mesothelioma patients. They excluded cases with unknown diagnostic confirmation and unknown survival…

Predicting Mesothelioma Outcomes with Blood Tests
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Predicting Mesothelioma Outcomes with Blood Tests

ByAlex Strauss

Two separate teams of Japanese researchers are delving into the possibilities of blood serum indicators that could help predict outcomes in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Pleural mesothelioma, a cancer that starts on the lining around the lungs, is the most common form of the disease. It occurs most often in people who have inadvertently inhaled asbestos dust. Mesothelioma is highly resistant to conventional treatments. It is also difficult to predict which patients are likely to do well with standard therapies and which are not, which is referred to as prognosis. But researchers worldwide are continually searching for new ways to diagnose and predict the prognosis of patients with…

Mesothelioma Tests Focus on Prediction and Prevention
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Mesothelioma Tests Focus on Prediction and Prevention

ByAlex Strauss

A California mesothelioma doctor believes it may eventually be possible to predict who is likely to get malignant mesothelioma and even keep it from developing. Only about 15 percent of people exposed to asbestos will go on to develop mesothelioma or lung cancer, but right now they have no way of knowing who they are.  Now scientists at UCLA and other mesothelioma treatment centers around the country, in conjunction with surgical oncologist Dr. Robert Cameron and the Pacific, Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (PHLBI), are gearing up to develop tests that could identify those at highest risk for asbestos-related malignancies.  The teams will also test methods of preventing mesothelioma or for finding it in its earliest stage. Dr. Cameron and the research…